Balancing life, one race at a time

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What Munich taught me about life

Every runner needs to rest. And it’s exactly what KK and I did straight after Comrades. We flew out to Germany for two weeks of beer, pretzels and sun. For both of us it was a time of reflection.

KK analyzed his Comrades race, what went right, what went wrong and considered what steps he’d take for next year’s race. For me, the June break signified a pause in the year and an assessment of what was working in the areas of my life that I’d need to improve or release.

Munich proved to be the perfect place to view life from different eyes. This is what I saw and the lessons it taught me…

Drink beer! Anytime is a good time to drink beer. Drinking beer is a normal part of life for the bavarians like tea is to me. It seemed to put people in such a jovial mood. It meant that people stopped to say “prost” (cheers) to one another & take time to relax and drink this huge glass of beer.

Eat carbs! My favourite was a pretzel filled with cream cheese and chives for breakfast. And forget about vegetables or salads. They don’t exist in Munich! Vegetarian options were the spatzle or dumpling. But then again, why would you choose anything other than the delicious pork roast or schnitzel?

Mind your own business! My friend Lisa made the comment that Munich is the city for introverts and she was right. Everyone keeps to themselves & no one interferes with one another, even though the place is bustling. Sticking to yourself and your own business is quite refreshing and definitely less stressful than carrying everyone else’s issues.

Go big and make it count! Beer came in 500ml or 1 liter glasses. Nothing smaller! The pork roast was massive, the pretzels looked like they were on steroids! The bakeries were big, the bullet trains were fast and some of my favourite shops were x3 storey high buildings!

Riding your bicycle to a rock concert is cool! Their lives are so laid back & so relaxed. They don’t seem to care what other people think. They go with what makes sense.

The biggest lesson I learnt was this…

Make time for me! Everything is closed on Sundays which means people make time to do other things. And I don’t mean be busy at the mall (because it’s also closed), but to lie around in the sun, to picnic in the park, to walk the dog and to relax.